It comes as Exeter City Council's long-running Matford car boot sale is facing a crisis as the number of visitors and vendors dwindle - £45,000 down year on year, and Cllr John Goodey, Teignbridge District Council’s executive for community neighbourhoods, said that it is a sign of the times that car boot sales are not as popular.

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Cllr Goodey said: “ We are currently reviewing our position on hosting car boot sales and relevant parties are being consulted on this. It is a sign of the times that car boot sales are not as popular as they were, this is not unique to Teignbridge as nationally due to the growth of online resale sites demand appears to be falling.”

However, the news has disappointed some customers – with one saying that a part of Newton Abbot has been taken away.

Newton Abbot cattle market

The customer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The car boot sales at the Cattle Market are somewhere that we have been going for many years and is somewhere that you go to potter around, but it is really sad that there are going to be no more car boot sales at the cattle market

“Lots of people are really upset about it as lots of people go there. It is a part of Newton Abbot’s history and a part of Newton Abbot has been taken away.”

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Fortnightly car boot sales will still be taking place on Sunday mornings at Newton Abbot Racecourse, but at present, there are no plans for them to continue in the cattle market.

Newton Abbot Cattle Market in 1950

Teignbridge District Council have approved a £2million investment in the council-owned Market Walk shopping centre – which is the first phase of a £30million investment programme between the council and private investors of the next five to 10 years that would transform the centre of the town.

Also included in the council’s ambitious plans is the redevelopment of the town’s historic 800-year-old cattle market that would close when the plans come forward and were implemented.

The development was due to discussed by the council in December, because of ongoing negotiations with the occupiers of the site, the item was removed from the agenda.

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A consultation event has begun and ran to the end of September, but if the plans to close the cattle market are approved, the council would terminate its commercial contracts with Sawdye & Harris and Rendells – the two auctioneers who lease the market site from the council on an annual rolling contract – and no alternative premises for them to operate from would be offered.

At the time of the consultation event, a Teignbridge Council spokesman added: “A draft regeneration plan for Newton Abbot was consulted on with the public and local partners in the summer of 2010 and identified a number of projects which could help boost the local economy and improve the town over 10 years.

“Development proposals for Newton Abbot are now enshrined within the Local Plan. There are a number of key opportunity areas for major development in and around the town centre.

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“Teignbridge is working on a master-plan for the town centre and will include all relevant stakeholders including Newton Abbot Town Council, the Town Development Partnership, Chamber of Commerce, Devon County Council as highways authority, retailers, the community, partners and others.”